A British woman attempting to fly a single-engined plane over both poles and around the globe has arrived in Buenos Aires, nearly halfway through her quest.
After her latest leg from Brazil, Polly Vacher was greeted with champagne, roses and military marching music played by an Argentine Air Force band. The festivities began as soon as her Piper Dakota plane touched down at a military airport.
She arrived in Argentina from Port Alegre, southern Brazil, now 24,000 miles into her odyssey since her May 6 departure from Scotland. Over her six-month journey, she has flown over the North Pole, Alaska, and North America.
"I'm nearly at the halfpoint mark!" she said after climbing down from the orange-and black plane.
After one more landfall at the southernmost tip of South America, her next stop is expected to be Antarctica.
The trip is an attempt by Vacher to raise money for World Wings, an English aviation organisation that provides scholarships for disabled pilots. Vacher flew around the world in 2001, raising